Stranded in San Pancho

San Pancho is an island. No way in, no way out.

Saturday night (that's September 4), just before midnight, the only bridge into and out of San Pancho disappeared into the river. Parts of the bridge crumbled the night before during heavy rain. By Sunday morning … it was gone.

Just a raging river left behind. I've heard that term "raging river" many times. But this is the first time I've seen a truly raging river. Fast, muddy, at the top of the river banks. Full of debris and trees that had washed downstream.

It was interesting to watch the people of San Pancho. Many, of course, gathered at the river, as they had the morning before, to survey the damage. The first morning women used their brooms and hoses and washed the mud and debris off the street and the bridge. Sunday morning there was nothing to do but stare at the empty space at the end of San Pancho's main street.

No way in, no way out.

Later Sunday, someone set up a zipline to move things across the river and into San Pancho. Someone sent over bundles of blankets, which many of us derided. Heat index here in September is usually high 90s, high 70s at night. But, maybe the hospital needed them because nurses and doctors couldn't leave town. The zipline disappeared, too.

Monday … a temporary footbridge appeared over the river. Plywood on boards laid on a steel beam. Not for the faint of heart. Supplies started to arrive in San Pancho … I saw huge bottles of water, orange juice and milk carried across.

This morning. No footbridge. It, too, washed away by the raging river. Again, no way in, no way out.

And, even if you did get out, there was no place to go, with the only road, Highway 200, closed to the north and to the south due to mudslides and washouts.

It got worse. The river overflowed its banks last night. Friends and neighbors had to leave their homes, right on our street, in the middle of the night. The river and the mud moved in. We heard that some squatters along the river lost their homes.

At first a situation like this seems impossible. You start to think of things. There must be another way out. No, there is not. The bridge will be replaced soon. Not likely.

Then, food. Water. Propane. Not arriving today. Then the internet and the phone went down. Sunday I think. Then the power, yesterday and again today. Money. There are no banks in San Pancho. Gas for the car. There are no gas stations in San Pancho. You realize you are truly isolated in San Pancho.

Right now, we have power, internet and phone in San Pancho. Curt and I have enough food for a week, although we might have to rely on black olives, capers and water chestnuts in some combination. It's amazing how little we do have for real food… beans, onions, chicken breast, pork, a tomato, pancake mix and syrup. We have water. Milk. We're trying to use as little propane as possible.

But, still …. no way in, no way out.

I ventured out into the flooded streets today looking for, silly me, bread. Not a loaf in town. Nor meat. Nor, most surprisingly, tortillas. The tortilla factory is out of propane. I bought a bag of potato chips for Curt and sour cream for me (add a little sugar and vanilla and we can enjoy our diet Jello).

This is the quietest San Pancho has ever been. No traffic, no tourists, no restaurants. Nothing.

What caused all this? Rain, rain and more rain. Today is the 7th of September. This week, we have had more than 16 inches of rain, 8 of it yesterday. Right now, it's raining again. But not very much. Hopefully.

To see photos of all the destruction, go to SanPanchoWeather.Com where Curt has been posting blogs and pictures for you.